Romans 7:20

20 Now if I do what I do not want, ¹it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Romans 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 7:20

Now if I do that I would not
The same conclusion is formed here, as in ( Romans 7:17 ) , not with any view to excuse himself from blame in sinning, but to trace the lusts of his heart, and the sins of his life, to the source and fountain of them, the corruption of his nature; and to ascribe them to the proper cause of them, which was not the law of God, nor the new man, but sin that dwelt in him.

Romans 7:20 In-Context

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

Cross References

• 1. ver. 17